“The partisan nature of the imprisoning of a top senior White House aide should chill the bones of every American,” he says.
Trump’s former trade adviser Peter Navarro held a press conference shortly before turning himself over to authorities in Miami, Florida to serve his 4-month prison sentence.
Navarro was found in contempt of Congress in 2023 for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the Democrat-led House Jan. 6 select committee, citing executive privilege.
“I am not nervous,” Navarro told a reporter Tuesday. “I am pissed.”
“When I walk in that prison today, the justice system, such as it is, will have done a crippling blow to the constitutional separation of powers of executive privilege,” he added. “The partisan nature of the imprisoning of a top senior White House aide should chill the bones of every American.”
NEW: Biden’s Justice Department shatters historical precedent imprisoning Trump Trade Advisor Peter Navarro for contempt of Congress, destroying a 250-year tradition of honoring executive privilege.
Obama’s DOJ didn’t prosecute Eric Holder and Lois Lerner following contempt… pic.twitter.com/WTUp0jrBC5
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) March 19, 2024
“I am the first senior White House adviser in the history of our republic that has ever been charged with this alleged crime,” Navarro said.
“And it was only with my case that somehow that has changed,” he added.
Navarro filed an emergency petition to the Supreme Court this week to avoid reporting to prison, but it was rejected by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Here is the statement I issued after Justice John Roberts decided to reject my release pending appeal.
STATEMENT OF PETER NAVARRO RE: SCOTUS DECISION
Justice Roberts took care to note that his reason for denial was “distinct from [my] pending appeal on the merits.” That appeal…— Peter Navarro (@RealPNavarro) March 19, 2024
From the Epoch Times:
Mr. Navarro unsuccessfully filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court on March 15 to avoid reporting to prison on March 19, but that bid was rejected by Chief Justice John Roberts on March 18.
The former White House aide said he would continue to appeal his case following the ruling, even if a resolution comes after the end of his sentence. His prison consultant, Sam Mangel, told The Epoch Times that for someone in Mr. Navarro’s situation with a lack of an existing record, the four-month sentence could be reduced to 90 days.
One of his lawyers, Stanley Brand, told The Epoch Times that Mr. Navarro would be the first White House aide in 240 years to be jailed for contempt of Congress “despite unbroken Department of Justice opinions” that say criminal contempt cannot be applied to them.
“So I’m pissed,” Navarro said. “That’s what I’m feeling right now. But I’m also afraid of only one thing: I’m afraid for this country. Because what they’re doing should have a chilling effect on every American regardless of their party.”
“They come for me; they can come for you,” he added.
